Top Asia fund manager says stock selloff is time to buy – Business News

JAKARTA: As the stock selloff extended in Asia on Wednesday, one top money manager was anything but concerned.

Alan Richardson, who oversees about $446 million for Samsung Asset Management Ltd. in Hong Kong, says the four-day decline in the region’s equity markets is nothing more than investors locking in profits before they close their books for the year.

The manager of the Samsung Asean Equity Fund, which has beaten 97 percent of peers over the past five years, says the broader trend of global economic growth is intact, and he’s using this opportunity to buy more shares.

Japanese stocks tumbled in Wednesday afternoon trading in Tokyo, with the benchmark Topix index heading for its biggest drop since March.

The nation’s equities started sliding late last week and have been retreating ever since, with the fallout spreading to other markets.

The sudden rout comes after big gains that sent a measure of Asian shares within touching distance of a record close. The region’s benchmark gauge has lost more than 2 percent in four straight days of declines.

“This is merely profit-taking before the year-end,” Richardson said.

“This is an opportunity to accumulate good stocks for stronger growth in 2018,” he said.

“We are still in the early stage of a fundamental recovery.”

Other strategists and fund managers contacted Wednesday had similar views:

Asian stock markets are correcting as they have been “quite overbought”Correction could “last a bit in terms of time period” but Sato doesn’t expect declines to be too steep“We’re also at the time of year when investors want to close up their positions”, many hedge funds end their fiscal year in November so market could be short on liquidityInvestors will take cues from developments with U.S. tax reforms and moves in chip makers around the globe, a sector that has played a huge roll in global equity rally